Joseph Alton - The Ebola Survival Handbook: An MD Tells You What You Need to Know Now to Stay Safe

The information given in this volume is for educational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice or the practice of medicine. No provider-patient relationship, explicit or implied, exists between the publisher, authors, and readers. This book does not substitute for such a relationship with a qualified provider. The strategies discussed in this volume are based on current knowledge; advances in our understanding of prevention, care, and treatment of Ebola virus may change significantly in the future. The authors and publisher strongly urge their readers to seek modern and standard medical care with certified practitioners whenever and wherever it is available.

The reader should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment because of information in this book or any resources cited in this book.

Although the authors have researched all sources to ensure accuracy, they assume no responsibility for errors, omissions, or other inconsistencies therein. Neither do the authors or publisher assume liability for any harm caused by the use or misuse of any methods, products, instructions, or information in this book or any resources cited in this book.

Copyright 2014 by Hollan Publishing, Inc.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Brian Peterson

Cover photo by Thinkstock.com

Print ISBN: 978-1-63450-118-7

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-63450-119-4

Printed in the United States of America

This book is dedicated to nurses everywhere (including my lovely wife Amy who is a nurse). Nurses are the heart and soul of medical care, and even as a doctor, I could never achieve for a patient what they can do with a simple touch of their hand and a smile.

Author Bio

Joseph Alton, MD is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American College of OB/GYN and the founder of the survival website DoomandBloom.net. Dr. Alton is the author of The Survival Medicine Handbook and is one of the most popular speakers in the country on crisis medicine. He has been featured in The New York Times , Fortune magazine, The Miami Herald , Tulsa World , Small Business Trendsetters , Mother Jones , and on various ABC, CBS, and Fox affiliates. Dr. Alton is a popular medical keynote speaker at survival and preparedness events throughout the country, and has been at the forefront of advising citizens on how to understand and survive the Ebola crisis.

Contents

INTRODUCTION: An Unexpected Visitor

TEXAS HEALTH WORKER TESTS POSITIVE FOR EBOLA

That was the headline that greeted Huffington Post readers via email on a quiet Sunday morning.

This was big news. The medical system of a superpower nation had been trumped by a microscopic organism that looked like a strand of spaghetti. Ebola virus caused a major epidemic in a large region in Africaall because someone ate bat meat that carried it.

By the end of the week, two nurses who treated Ebola patients in the United States had contracted the disease. These nurses, who were given minimal training in infectious-disease protocols, didnt just work behind the desk in the emergency room; they worked in an isolation area of an intensive care unit and wore protective gear.

But unlike cases before this, where the disease had been brought to the United States knowingly or unknowingly, these new developments made it clear that Ebola was no longer someone elses problemit was now our problem.

The nurses did not contract Ebola deep in the jungle of some third-world country thousands of miles away but in a hospital in Texas. It infected a health-care worker, one of the people on the frontlines of disease control.

These represent the first known cases of transmission of the deadly virus in the United States, but will they be the last? Its nave to think so. The commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, Dr. David Lakey, even admitted it in the Huffington Post when he stated, We knew a second case could be a reality, and weve been preparing for this possibility. We are broadening our team in Dallas and working with extreme diligence to prevent further spread.

Ebola has become a reality to the average American. Of course, it doesnt always kill. Take the cases of the Americans who were treated, cured, and released back to their families. While their recovery may take a while, and they may never be at 100 percent (Dr. Sacra was readmitted for other reasons soon after his release), they are all still with us. The success has been attributed to good hospital care and access to an experimental drug that had not been previously tested on humans. Dr. Kent Brantley, a missionary with the North Carolinabased Samaritans Purse who was evacuated from Liberia on August 2, 2014, said, I am thrilled to be alive, to be well, and to be reunited with my family. As a medical missionary, I never imagined myself in this position.

I am also thrilled that Dr. Brantley is alive, but why are people dying from Ebola even though a serum exists that could save them? Why, in view of the dire situation in West Africa, are capable drugs being held back in a quagmire of government bureaucracy? And a bigger question is who decides who will get the drug and who wont?

Its not likely that your family doctor will be able to prescribe this medication anytime soon. I wrote this book because its important to educate yourself about Ebola and prepare yourself for the small possibility of it coming to your neighborhood. There is no need for panic, but you, the average citizen, should take the time to learn about this deadly disease and how you can prevent it from affecting your family. It all starts with this book.

Ebola is real and the details can be frightening. The World Health Organization currently counts over ten thousand cases and five thousand deaths. If youre scared, you are not alone. According to a survey taken by Harris Poll/HealthDay, more than two thousand adults polled in the first week of October 2014 (a week before the death of the first US case), 27 percent viewed Ebola as a real threat to health and security. That figure was up from about 13 percent only weeks before. After Thomas Duncans death, the numbers skyrocketed. By mid-October, about 55 percent polled believed Ebola was a serious health threat. People have cancelled holiday travel due to fear of Ebola. No infectious disease has generated this much concern since the HIV/AIDS pandemic.